Returning
by neon-yellow
Summary: Hagrid finds an injured Severus coming back from his meeting with the Death Eaters. HagridSnape slash.


Title: Returning  
By: neonyellow  
Pairing: Hagrid/Snape  
Rated: PG13  
Warnings: implied slash, implied torture  
Summary: Hagrid finds an injured Severus coming back from his meeting with the Death Eaters.  
Notes: Written for hak42, for their win in my weekly Harry Potter trivia contest.  
  
**Returning**  
  
Hagrid watched him come through the gate. He was a wreck of a man, completely destroyed and twitching.  
  
His robes were in tatters, bloodied and caked with mud. He had his hood up, but lank, black hair fell in front of his face, covering his darkened eyes. His figure was wasted and he walked with a bad limp.  
  
Hagrid was sure he was a tramp, a crazy man from Hogsmeade, who for some reason was intent on Hogwarts. Crazies were like that sometimes, attracted to big, shiny things like the castle at night, especially on a night like this one, where the warmth Hogwarts produced seemed to glow bright in the dim fog and moonless sky.  
  
He could be a danger to the students. Hagrid approached him carefully, making sure not to seem threatening. Who knew what this man was likely to do?  
  
"Sir?" He asked.  
  
The man didn't hear him. He kept walking towards the castle, completely ignoring his presence.  
  
"Sir?" Hagrid tried again, speaking loudly this time.  
  
The stranger startled, his back going straight, flinching. His hand drove into his right pocket and pulled out his wand. He turned as fast as a whiplash to face Hagrid, his wand brandished. Most tramps couldn't afford wands. Hagrid swallowed.  
  
"Now, yeh put tha' down, sir. I don' mean yeh any trouble." Hagrid told him cautiously, not making any sudden moves. He watched as the man examined him for a moment, his wand still directed at him.  
  
"Hagrid?" The stranger's voice was grizzled, rough with use, or perhaps non-use. Hagrid was unsure.  
  
"Yeah." He didn't know how the man knew him. Hagrid certainly didn't recognize him.  
  
For a moment nothing was said or done. Then the stranger slowly put his wand back in his pocket and took a few tentative steps towards him.  
  
"What's yer business 'ere?" Hagrid asked, approaching the man also, treading softly on the ground.  
  
"I have to speak with the Headmaster." He shuffled his feet, looking down at the wet grass beneath his feet. It was only then that Hagrid realized the stranger had no shoes. Yes, he must be a tramp. But what sort of tramp had a wand but no shoes? This one was strange. Hagrid had dealt with the odd loon before, but none of them seemed to be as aware of what was going on around them, as this man did now.  
  
"Tha' can wait 'til mornin'." He told him, feeling guilty. It wasn't right, turning this man away, especially in the state he was in, but there was no telling what he would do once in the castle. The students were sleeping. He wasn't going to risk innocent lives on some stranger's claim.  
  
"It can't!" The man shouted, anger suddenly very evident in his voice. His hood fell back and his hair, caught in the wind, blew out of his face.  
  
"Sev'rus." Little Severus Snape, who graduated two years ago, the boy filled with spite and vinegar, and who made all those sour faces.  
  
He hunched up, like he'd been caught stealing something, and was expecting punishment. He jerked his hood back over his head, casting a dark shadow over his sunken face.  
  
"Sev'rus, what are yeh doin' 'ere?"  
  
The boy was a familiar, of sorts. He'd followed Hagrid around during his early years at Hogwarts, before the teasing and the taunting from the other students had gotten really bad, and drove him into the isolation of the Hogwarts library during all his free time. Always asking questions, always curious about the different sorts of creatures that inhabited the forest, Snape had been.  
  
A nice boy, in his own way. Definitely talented. Hagrid had overheard some of his professors calling him brilliant. Of course there were control issues, and anger problems, but his mind was quick, no one doubted that.  
  
Hagrid had thought the boy would go on to do something grand. Invent some astounding potion, or become an Auror, something worthwhile. Grow up a bit.  
  
But whatever he'd expected, this certainly wasn't it. Snape stared intently at the ground, his hair shrouding his face.  
  
"I told you. I need to speak to the Headmaster." His voice was weak, defeated.  
  
"Righ' now? 'e's likely asleep." Severus took a step forward, looking up at the castle.  
  
"Please, Hagrid."  
  
Severus shivered, pulling his tatty robe tighter around him. He stepped from foot to foot, his toes curling in the cool night air. Hagrid couldn't help but pity the broken man. What could have possibly driven him to this?  
  
"Follow me." And Snape did, limping slightly.  
  
A spy, that's what Dumbledore had said.  
  
Hagrid couldn't believe it. Severus had been a Death Eater. He'd worked along side Malfoy, and all those other evil men. He'd tortured children. He'd killed the innocent.  
  
It did explain the condition he was in. Dumbledore told him he wasn't high enough in the ranks to be exempted from certain...activities the Death Eaters regularly participated in.  
  
So that's why he showed up at night, so not to draw attention to himself, to tell Dumbledore what he'd learned.  
  
Well, Hagrid had always thought he'd do something great, something that would make a difference. This certainly qualified, he supposed. Though it wasn't exactly what he would have expected from Snape.  
  
He was only nineteen, and he had to go and be beaten up weekly for Dumbledore's cause. It just wasn't right. Had Dumbledore seen the state he was in? Had he seen the bruises and the limp? Hagrid supposed he must have felt some compassion, he had sent him to the hospital wing after. Told him to get some rest, but be gone by sunrise. But he knew Snape would be back in a week or so, with fresh bruises, long after the current ones fade.  
  
Hagrid knew it was silly to go and follow him, to check up on him and make sure he was still breathing. But he couldn't help the concern that had built up for the boy. He'd seen how he was picked on at Hogwarts, and now he was getting more of the same from the Death Eaters. It wasn't fair how some people just get all the bad luck.  
  
The hospital wing was quiet. Hagrid could have heard a single pin drop. The only sound was the fluttering of a curtain near the back of the room, hung over an open window. The room was dim, but Snape caught Hagrid's eye immediately.  
  
He was sprawled out sideways over the nearest bed, having not bothered to crawl under the sheets. His black robes stood drastically out against the sterile-white sheets. His hair hung limply like a curtain, hiding his face.  
  
It didn't surprise Hagrid that none of his wounds were healed. Snape looked exhausted; he was probably perfectly content with a good night's rest.  
  
Hagrid brushed back Severus's hair, tucking the oily strands behind his ears, revealing his pale face, smattered with purple bruises.  
  
His healing skills were nothing compared to Poppy's, but he knew enough to get by with the animals. He wouldn't be able to do much with Snape's limp, but he could make the bruises heal at the very least.  
  
He scoured Poppy's medical cabinets, pulling out a large, labeled jar with a potion in it that was a faint peach color. It was cool to the touch and as he applied it to Snape's bruises, the boy weakly murmured something in his sleep.  
  
"Hush, an' let me do this. Yeh'll feel better 'cause o' it." He spoke to him quietly, so not to wake him from his fragile state of sleep.  
  
Snape's face was cold as ice as Hagrid rubbed the cream in. Hagrid tried to warm it, but it had little effect. He could vaguely remember that Severus's skin had always felt cold, even as a student.  
  
He capped the lid on the jar and put it to the side, feeling a tad better. At least Severus wouldn't have to deal with healing those once he was home. He left his spot beside the bed, returning Poppy's potion to its rightful place on the shelf, and left for the exit, intent on his own warm bed in his hut. He could use some rest.  
  
"Hagrid?" He turned around and saw Severus's eyes glittering in the darkness.  
  
"Yeah." Severus yawned, and rested a hand on his cheek, feeling for the nonexistent bruise.  
  
"Thank you." He whispered, his voice quieting.  
  
"Jus' doin' my duty, Sev'rus."  
  
The boy closed his eyes, rolled over, and tried to pull the covers back. He cursed weakly as he fumbled uselessly with the sheets.  
  
Hagrid hurried over and pulled the sheets back, letting them lie open, as Severus crawled into them, yawning a second time.  
  
"Thank you, Hagrid." He murmured, snuggling into the pillow as the giant tucked the covers around him.  
  
Hagrid smiled and gently caressed Severus's forehead, "No problem."  
  
"I've missed you." Severus told him, his eyes shutting involuntarily.  
  
"I missed yeh, too."  
  
Severus's eyes shut fully and didn't open. Hagrid smiled at the boy, and patted him gently on the shoulder before going to leave. Before he got two steps from the bed he felt Severus's hand grasp tightly onto his own.  
  
"Stay with me." Hagrid was only too happy to comply. 


End file.
